Opinion
Editorial

The situation in eastern Ukraine is no longer just about regional players. Now that the Malaysian airliner has been shot down, Canada, the United States, Australia and others are involved.

Andrei Anghel, a 24-year-old University of Waterloo graduate, was the sole Canadian aboard the plane — travelling to Bali for a vacation with his girlfriend.

We offer our condolences to his family.

But while he was the only Canadian aboard the aircraft, another 297 people from various countries also perished when the plane was downed.

Who could have perpetrated such a senseless act? There is some evidence of rebel involvement and that the passenger plane was mistaken for a military target.

On Thursday Prime Minister Stephen Harpersaid it best: “While we do not yet know who is responsible for this attack, we continue to condemn Russia’s military aggression and illegal occupation of Ukraine, which is at the root of the ongoing conflict in the region.”

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott blamed “Russian-backed rebels.” Twenty-seven of his countrymen were on the plane.

One thing is certain. Just hours before the Malaysian airliner went down, Ukraine accused Russian forces of shooting down one of their fighter jets over Ukrainian territory.

Whether the responsibility for the crash can be traced to random “rebels” or Russian forces, the truth is whoever is responsible for firing missiles at planes is doing so because they’re emboldened by Russia’s reckless military action in the region.

Whether a Russian missile technician pushed the button or not, their arming of rebels puts blood on their hands.

All this just proves that Canada was right to join in on the sanctions against Russia. It also proves Harper was right to play a role in kicking Russia out of the G8.

In the long view, this is also a serious reminder that Europe must distance itself further from an increasingly erratic Russian regime and seek another, more stable source of energy. They cannot be at the mercy of this international wild card.

An innocent Canadian life was lost in this mess. Stupid mistake, tragedy, whatever you want to call it — it’s still inexcusable.